MoestuinMix: Experimenting with crop diversity

How can we sustainably produce food in the Netherlands in the future? That question is central to CropMix, our five-year research programme in which more than 70 scientists and 25 arable farmers work together. The focus is on crop diversity: combining different crops in one field, for example through strip cropping. This promotes biodiversity in fields and can help us become less dependent on pesticides.  

Een veelgehoorde vraag van akkerbouwers die strokenteelt of andere vormen van mengteelt overwegen is: welke gewassen gaan goed samen? Om daarachter te komen schakelen we komend jaar voor de tweede keer de hulp in van ervaren en onervaren moestuiniers om verschillende combinaties te testen in hun eigen moestuin.

Registration season 2025

Wil je meedoen aan het experiment in je eigen moestuin? Lees meer informatie en meld je aan via onderstaande knop voor seizoen 2025. Meer informatie over de achtergrond van ons experiment lees je onderaan de huidige pagina.

Vragenlijst goede en slechte buren

Wil je direct al aan de slag? Help ons met het opzetten van het experiment van komend jaar door een paar korte vragen te beantwoorden over wat  voor jou goede en slechte buurgewassen zijn.

---

Also see the frequently asked questions op de sign up page (Dutch only).

---

Season 2024: Slug invasion and first results

It will not have escaped anyone's notice, this year there has been a veritable slug invasion. Due to the wet weather, many vegetable gardeners are bothered by the slimy crawlers that eat their (young) plants. For those vegetable gardeners whose broad beans had withstood the slug plague, the next plague was already presenting itself: aphids. Fortunately, the aphids also attracted natural enemies such as ladybirds, as in the photo below, which we received from a participant.

Many participants however, were still able to participate in the experiment and test crop combinations, despite the difficult year. Behind the scenes, we are currently working hard to analyse the first results.

Photo: Broad bean plants with aphids and lady bugs from a participant from Arnhem.

---

Achtergrond van het experiment

In the Netherlands, we have a very efficient food production system, but this system is reaching its limits. The current system, mainly based on large fields with one crop (monoculture), has given us great advantages in terms of food production, but many people are becoming increasingly aware of the negative impact of this agricultural system on nature. It causes loss of biodiversity and has made us dependent on fertilisers and plant protection products, which can be harmful to both people and nature. Moreover, growers often get low prices for their produce and their remuneration is often disproportionate to their work. 

Transitie naar meer gewasdiversiteit

To enable the transition to more sustainable, ecology-based agriculture, some 70 scientists from different fields, 25 arable farms and over 30 chain partners and interest groups are joining forces. In CropMix we are studying arable systems that focus on crop diversity, such as strip cropping, where strips of different crops grow side by side. This promotes biodiversity in fields and can help us become less dependent on fertilisers and pesticides. This is because, for example, one crop attracts the natural enemy of the other crop's pest and diseases are less likely to spread through a field.  

But how does such a crop-diverse system work and what are its advantages and disadvantages? That is what we are investigating over the next five years with ecologists, agronomists, economists and social scientists. They investigate ecological processes in the fields, but also look at logistics and earning models, and study the roles of different partners in the food chain, including consumers. 

What is the best crop pair? 

A common question from growers considering strip cropping or other forms of mixed cropping is: which crops go well together? Answering that question requires testing lots of combinations, but we don't have enough time and space to test all the interesting combinations on the university's trial fields. Moreover, we cannot dictate to our participating growers what they should grow.  

Fortunately, there are many people in the Netherlands with vegetable gardens and valuable experience who can help us. Vegetable gardens almost always grow different crops next to and through each other, making them ideally suited for testing different crop combinations. That is why we ask vegetable gardeners throughout the Netherlands to help us test crop combinations and help arable farmers on their way. With this citizen science we collect a lot of valuable data from different environments, such as soil type and landscape, in a short time. 

The experiment

De deelnemers van MoestuinMix testen verschillende gewascombinaties testen met tuinbonen. Vorig jaar testten de deelnemers de combinatie tuinboon met pompoen en een combinatie van tuinboon met een zelfgekozen gewas. Dit jaar testen we de combinatie tuinboon en rode biet en is de tweede combinatie wederom tuinboon met een gewas naar keuze. Ons doel is erachter te komen welke combinaties de teelt van tuinbonen bevorderen en welke processen daarvoor zorgen, zoals groei en weerbaarheid. 

---